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Trotta RJ, Vasquez-Hidalgo MA, Smith BI, Reed SA, Govoni KE, Vonnahme KA, Swanson KC. Timing of maternal nutrient restriction during mid- to late-gestation influences net umbilical uptake of glucose and amino acids in adolescent sheep. J Anim Sci 2023; 101:skad383. [PMID: 37982730 PMCID: PMC10684045 DOI: 10.1093/jas/skad383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous research demonstrated that maternal nutrient restriction during mid- to late-gestation influenced net umbilical uptakes of glucose and amino acids in sheep. However, it is unclear how the timing and duration of nutrient restriction during mid- to late-gestation influences net uterine, uteroplacental, and fetal flux of glucose and amino acids. On day 50 of gestation, 41 adolescent ewe lambs carrying singletons were randomly assigned to one of six dietary treatments: 1) 100% of nutrient requirements from days 50 to 90 of gestation (CON; n = 7); 2) 60% of nutrient requirements (RES; n = 7) from days 50 to 90 of gestation; 3) 100% of nutrient requirements from days 50 to 130 of gestation (CON-CON; n = 6); 4) 100% of nutrient requirements from days 50 to 90 of gestation and 60% of nutrient requirements from days 90 to 130 of gestation (CON-RES; n = 7); 5) 60% of nutrient requirements from days 50 to 90 of gestation and 100% of nutrient requirements from days 90 to 130 of gestation (RES-CON; n = 7); or 6) 60% of nutrient requirements from days 50 to 130 of gestation (RES-RES; n = 7). On day 90 (n = 14) and day 130 (n = 27), intraoperative procedures were performed to evaluate uteroplacental blood flows, collect blood samples, and then ewes were euthanized. Net uterine, uteroplacental, and umbilical fluxes of glucose and amino acids were calculated by multiplying blood flow by the arterial-venous concentration difference. Data from days 90 and 130 were analyzed separately using ANOVA in SAS. Maternal nutrient restriction during mid-gestation increased (P = 0.04) net umbilical glucose uptake but, maternal nutrient restriction during late-gestation decreased (P = 0.02) net umbilical glucose uptake. Net umbilical essential amino acid uptake decreased (P = 0.03) with nutrient restriction during mid-gestation; however, net umbilical uptakes of Phe (P = 0.02), Thr (P = 0.05), Met (P = 0.09), and His (P = 0.08) increased or tended to increase after nutrient restriction during late-gestation. These data demonstrate that net umbilical glucose and amino acid uptakes were influenced by the timing of nutrient restriction during mid- to late-gestation. Elevated net umbilical glucose uptake after mid-gestational nutrient restriction was sustained throughout late-gestation, independent of late-gestational feeding level. Long-term adaptations in umbilical glucose uptake may have implications for prenatal and postnatal growth and development of the offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronald J Trotta
- Department of Animal Science, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58108, USA
| | | | - Brandon I Smith
- Department of Animal Science, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
| | - Sarah A Reed
- Department of Animal Science, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
| | - Kristen E Govoni
- Department of Animal Science, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
| | - Kimberly A Vonnahme
- Department of Animal Science, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58108, USA
| | - Kendall C Swanson
- Department of Animal Science, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58108, USA
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Tran NT, Muccini AM, Hale N, Tolcos M, Snow RJ, Walker DW, Ellery SJ. Creatine in the fetal brain: A regional investigation of acute global hypoxia and creatine supplementation in a translational fetal sheep model. Front Cell Neurosci 2023; 17:1154772. [PMID: 37066075 PMCID: PMC10097948 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2023.1154772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 04/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Creatine supplementation during pregnancy is a promising prophylactic treatment for perinatal hypoxic brain injury. Previously, in near-term sheep we have shown that fetal creatine supplementation reduces cerebral metabolic and oxidative stress induced by acute global hypoxia. This study investigated the effects of acute hypoxia with or without fetal creatine supplementation on neuropathology in multiple brain regions. Methods Near-term fetal sheep were administered continuous intravenous infusion of either creatine (6 mg kg-1 h-1) or isovolumetric saline from 122 to 134 days gestational age (dGA; term is approx. 145 dGA). At 131 dGA, global hypoxia was induced by a 10 min umbilical cord occlusion (UCO). Fetuses were then recovered for 72 h at which time (134 dGA) cerebral tissue was collected for either RT-qPCR or immunohistochemistry analyses. Results UCO resulted in mild injury to the cortical gray matter, thalamus and hippocampus, with increased cell death and astrogliosis and downregulation of genes involved in regulating injury responses, vasculature development and mitochondrial integrity. Creatine supplementation reduced astrogliosis within the corpus callosum but did not ameliorate any other gene expression or histopathological changes induced by hypoxia. Of importance, effects of creatine supplementation on gene expression irrespective of hypoxia, including increased expression of anti-apoptotic (BCL-2) and pro-inflammatory (e.g., MPO, TNFa, IL-6, IL-1β) genes, particularly in the gray matter, hippocampus, and striatum were identified. Creatine treatment also effected oligodendrocyte maturation and myelination in white matter regions. Conclusion While supplementation did not rescue mild neuropathology caused by UCO, creatine did result in gene expression changes that may influence in utero cerebral development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nhi T. Tran
- The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- *Correspondence: Nhi T. Tran,
| | - Anna M. Muccini
- The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Nadia Hale
- The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Mary Tolcos
- School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Rod J. Snow
- Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - David W. Walker
- The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Stacey J. Ellery
- The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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Bhattacharya S, Bennet L, Davidson JO, Unsworth CP. Multi-layer perceptron classification & quantification of neuronal survival in hypoxic-ischemic brain image slices using a novel gradient direction, grey level co-occurrence matrix image training. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0278874. [PMID: 36512546 PMCID: PMC9746996 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0278874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a major global cause of neonatal death and lifelong disability. Large animal translational studies of hypoxic ischemic brain injury, such as those conducted in fetal sheep, have and continue to play a key role in furthering our understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of injury and developing new treatment strategies for clinical translation. At present, the quantification of neurons in histological images consists of slow, manually intensive morphological assessment, requiring many repeats by an expert, which can prove to be time-consuming and prone to human error. Hence, there is an urgent need to automate the neuron classification and quantification process. In this article, we present a 'Gradient Direction, Grey level Co-occurrence Matrix' (GD-GLCM) image training method which outperforms and simplifies the standard training methodology using texture analysis to cell-classification. This is achieved by determining the Grey level Co-occurrence Matrix of the gradient direction of a cell image followed by direct passing to a classifier in the form of a Multilayer Perceptron (MLP). Hence, avoiding all texture feature computation steps. The proposed MLP is trained on both healthy and dying neurons that are manually identified by an expert and validated on unseen hypoxic-ischemic brain slice images from the fetal sheep in utero model. We compared the performance of our classifier using the gradient magnitude dataset as well as the gradient direction dataset. We also compare the performance of a perceptron, a 1-layer MLP, and a 2-layer MLP to each other. We demonstrate here a way of accurately identifying both healthy and dying cortical neurons obtained from brain slice images of the fetal sheep model under global hypoxia to high precision by identifying the most minimised MLP architecture, minimised input space (GLCM size) and minimised training data (GLCM representations) to achieve the highest performance over the standard methodology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saheli Bhattacharya
- Department of Engineering Science, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- * E-mail:
| | - Laura Bennet
- Department of Physiology, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Joanne O. Davidson
- Department of Physiology, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Charles P. Unsworth
- Department of Engineering Science, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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Heland S, Fields N, Ellery SJ, Fahey M, Palmer KR. The role of nutrients in human neurodevelopment and their potential to prevent neurodevelopmental adversity. Front Nutr 2022; 9:992120. [DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.992120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Nutritional deficits or excesses affect a huge proportion of pregnant women worldwide. Maternal nutrition has a significant influence on the fetal environment and can dramatically impact fetal brain development. This paper reviews current nutritional supplements that can be used to optimise fetal neurodevelopment and prevent neurodevelopmental morbidities, including folate, iodine, vitamin B12, iron, and vitamin D. Interestingly, while correcting nutritional deficits can prevent neurodevelopmental adversity, overcorrecting them can in some cases be detrimental, so care needs to be taken when recommending supplementation in pregnancy. The potential benefits of using nutrition to prevent neurodiversity is shown by promising nutraceuticals, sulforaphane and creatine, both currently under investigation. They have the potential to promote improved neurodevelopmental outcomes through mitigation of pathological processes, including hypoxia, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Neurodevelopment is a complex process and whilst the role of micronutrients and macronutrients on the developing fetal brain is not completely understood, this review highlights the key findings thus far.
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Hammond SJ, Darby JRT. A no brainer: Intervening early to protect against perinatal brain injury. J Physiol 2022; 600:4059-4061. [PMID: 35932287 DOI: 10.1113/jp283559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah J Hammond
- Early Origins of Adult Health Research Group, Health and Biomedical Innovation, UniSA: Clinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Jack R T Darby
- Early Origins of Adult Health Research Group, Health and Biomedical Innovation, UniSA: Clinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
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Tran NT, Kowalski GM, Muccini AM, Nitsos I, Hale N, Snow RJ, Walker DW, Ellery SJ. Creatine supplementation reduces the cerebral oxidative and metabolic stress responses to acute in utero hypoxia in the late-gestation fetal sheep. J Physiol 2022; 600:3193-3210. [PMID: 35587817 PMCID: PMC9542404 DOI: 10.1113/jp282840] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract Prophylactic creatine treatment may reduce hypoxic brain injury due to its ability to sustain intracellular ATP levels thereby reducing oxidative and metabolic stress responses during oxygen deprivation. Using microdialysis, we investigated the real‐time in vivo effects of fetal creatine supplementation on cerebral metabolism following acute in utero hypoxia caused by umbilical cord occlusion (UCO). Fetal sheep (118 days’ gestational age (dGA)) were implanted with an inflatable Silastic cuff around the umbilical cord and a microdialysis probe inserted into the right cerebral hemisphere for interstitial fluid sampling. Creatine (6 mg kg−1 h−1) or saline was continuously infused intravenously from 122 dGA. At 131 dGA, a 10 min UCO was induced. Hourly microdialysis samples were obtained from −24 to 72 h post‐UCO and analysed for percentage change of hydroxyl radicals (•OH) and interstitial metabolites (lactate, pyruvate, glutamate, glycerol, glycine). Histochemical markers of protein and lipid oxidation were assessed at post‐mortem 72 h post‐UCO. Prior to UCO, creatine treatment reduced pyruvate and glycerol concentrations in the microdialysate outflow. Creatine treatment reduced interstitial cerebral •OH outflow 0 to 24 h post‐UCO. Fetuses with higher arterial creatine concentrations before UCO presented with reduced levels of hypoxaemia (PO2 and SO2) during UCO which associated with reduced interstitial cerebral pyruvate, lactate and •OH accumulation. No effects of creatine treatment on immunohistochemical markers of oxidative stress were found. In conclusion, fetal creatine treatment decreased cerebral outflow of •OH and was associated with an improvement in cerebral bioenergetics following acute hypoxia.
![]() Key points Fetal hypoxia can cause persistent metabolic and oxidative stress responses that disturb energy homeostasis in the brain. Creatine in its phosphorylated form is an endogenous phosphagen; therefore, supplementation is a proposed prophylactic treatment for fetal hypoxia. Fetal sheep instrumented with a cerebral microdialysis probe were continuously infused with or without creatine‐monohydrate for 10 days before induction of 10 min umbilical cord occlusion (UCO; 131 days’ gestation). Cerebral interstitial fluid was collected up to 72 h following UCO. Prior to UCO, fetal creatine supplementation reduced interstitial cerebral pyruvate and glycerol concentrations. Fetal creatine supplementation reduced cerebral hydroxyl radical efflux up to 24 h post‐UCO. Fetuses with higher arterial creatine concentrations before UCO and reduced levels of systemic hypoxaemia during UCO were associated with reduced cerebral interstitial pyruvate, lactate and •OH following UCO. Creatine supplementation leads to some improvements in cerebral bioenergetics following in utero acute hypoxia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nhi Thao Tran
- School of Health & Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Bundoora, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Greg M Kowalski
- Institute for Physical Activity & Nutrition, Deakin University, Burwood, School of Exercise & Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Metabolic Research Unit, School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Anna M Muccini
- The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Genetic Research Services, University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia
| | - Ilias Nitsos
- The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Monash University, Clayton, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Nadia Hale
- School of Health & Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Bundoora, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Rod J Snow
- Institute for Physical Activity & Nutrition, Deakin University, Burwood, School of Exercise & Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - David W Walker
- School of Health & Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Bundoora, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Stacey J Ellery
- The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Monash University, Clayton, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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The Effects of In Utero Fetal Hypoxia and Creatine Treatment on Mitochondrial Function in the Late Gestation Fetal Sheep Brain. OXIDATIVE MEDICINE AND CELLULAR LONGEVITY 2022; 2022:3255296. [PMID: 35132347 PMCID: PMC8817846 DOI: 10.1155/2022/3255296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Near-term acute hypoxia in utero can result in significant fetal brain injury, with some brain regions more vulnerable than others. As mitochondrial dysfunction is an underlying feature of the injury cascade following hypoxia, this study is aimed at characterizing mitochondrial function at a region-specific level in the near-term fetal brain after a period of acute hypoxia. We hypothesized that regional differences in mitochondrial function would be evident, and that prophylactic creatine treatment would mitigate mitochondrial dysfunction following hypoxia; thereby reducing fetal brain injury. Pregnant Border-Leicester/Merino ewes with singleton fetuses were surgically instrumented at 118 days of gestation (dGa; term is ~145 dGA). A continuous infusion of either creatine (n = 15; 6 mg/kg/h) or isovolumetric saline (n = 16; 1.5 ml/kg/h) was administered to the fetuses from 121 dGa. After 10 days of infusion, a subset of fetuses (8 saline-, 7 creatine-treated) were subjected to 10 minutes of umbilical cord occlusion (UCO) to induce a mild global fetal hypoxia. At 72 hours after UCO, the fetal brain was collected for high-resolution mitochondrial respirometry and molecular and histological analyses. The results show that the transient UCO-induced acute hypoxia impaired mitochondrial function in the hippocampus and the periventricular white matter and increased the incidence of cell death in the hippocampus. Creatine treatment did not rectify the changes in mitochondrial respiration associated with hypoxia, but there was a negative relationship between cell death and creatine content following treatment. Irrespective of UCO, creatine increased the proportion of cytochrome c bound to the inner mitochondrial membrane, upregulated the mRNA expression of the antiapoptotic gene Bcl2, and of PCG1-α, a driver of mitogenesis, in the hippocampus. We conclude that creatine treatment prior to brief, acute hypoxia does not fundamentally modify mitochondrial respiratory function, but may improve mitochondrial structural integrity and potentially increase mitogenesis and activity of antiapoptotic pathways.
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